1
00:00:02,769 --> 00:00:04,571
debating the issues.
>> Tom, Tiffany, thank you

2
00:00:04,638 --> 00:00:07,107
so much for coming in.
>> It's great to join you,

3
00:00:07,174 --> 00:00:09,409
Zach.
>> Up next is the other

4
00:00:09,476 --> 00:00:12,246
Republican in the primary
race for governor, who was

5
00:00:12,312 --> 00:00:15,582
first to throw his hat into
the ring back in May.

6
00:00:15,649 --> 00:00:18,418
Washington County Executive
Josh Schoemann.

7
00:00:18,485 --> 00:00:20,554
>> Josh Schoemann, thanks
for joining us.

8
00:00:20,621 --> 00:00:23,323
>> Yeah, thanks for having
me. Good to be here.

9
00:00:23,390 --> 00:00:26,126
>> So for voters who don't
know you, give us the quick

10
00:00:26,193 --> 00:00:28,262
story. Who are you and why
are you running for

11
00:00:28,328 --> 00:00:31,331
governor?
is I'm a Christian. First,

12
00:00:31,398 --> 00:00:34,434
I'm the son of a minister.
My my dad's ministry was in

13
00:00:34,501 --> 00:00:37,271
mostly northeastern
was a registered nurse. My

14
00:00:37,337 --> 00:00:39,540
wife and I have been
married almost 25 years.

15
00:00:39,606 --> 00:00:42,442
Both Wisconsin kids were
raised our family and

16
00:00:42,509 --> 00:00:45,212
mostly in Washington County,
and we now have an 80 acre

17
00:00:45,279 --> 00:00:49,149
farm in between West Bend
and Grafton. Love,

18
00:00:49,216 --> 00:00:53,053
Wisconsin through and
through. Aside from a tour

19
00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:55,822
of duty in Iraq in 2003,
and I always joke a tour of

20
00:00:55,889 --> 00:00:58,992
duty in the Chicagoland
suburbs while I was getting

21
00:00:59,059 --> 00:01:02,262
my master's degree at
Wisconsin kid and been back

22
00:01:02,329 --> 00:01:05,666
working in public service
my whole life. Dedicated it

23
00:01:05,732 --> 00:01:07,301
to the service and
sacrifice of the guys and

24
00:01:07,367 --> 00:01:10,704
gals who didn't make it
back, and reflecting the

25
00:01:10,771 --> 00:01:13,440
Lord's love by loving my
neighbor as myself in

26
00:01:13,507 --> 00:01:15,509
public service the last 12
years in Washington County.

27
00:01:15,576 --> 00:01:18,579
>> So is there a single
issue that would define you,

28
00:01:18,645 --> 00:01:20,981
or maybe a lane within the
Republican Party that helps

29
00:01:21,048 --> 00:01:24,518
define you?
driven being very people

30
00:01:25,118 --> 00:01:28,655
focused and and mostly
interested in solving

31
00:01:28,722 --> 00:01:32,059
problems. That's why I got
into public service. I

32
00:01:32,125 --> 00:01:34,428
actually started in public
administration because I

33
00:01:34,494 --> 00:01:37,931
little too volatile and too
theoretical. Public

34
00:01:37,998 --> 00:01:40,367
administration is really
where the rubber hits the

35
00:01:40,434 --> 00:01:42,669
road, and you're dealing
with people where they're

36
00:01:42,736 --> 00:01:46,340
at. My first job back in
Wisconsin was deputy clerk

37
00:01:46,406 --> 00:01:49,209
treasurer in Princeton,
Green Lake County, and I

38
00:01:49,276 --> 00:01:52,279
ended up taking on
responsibilities in public

39
00:01:52,346 --> 00:01:57,150
works, literally shoveling
out lift stations. So, you

40
00:01:57,217 --> 00:01:59,553
know, I think those are
important things, making

41
00:01:59,620 --> 00:02:01,455
sure when you flush the
toilet, it does what it's

42
00:02:01,522 --> 00:02:04,258
supposed to do and the
garbage is collected on

43
00:02:04,324 --> 00:02:06,293
time. And to this day,
that's who I am as

44
00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:08,896
Washington County Executive
and who I will be as

45
00:02:08,962 --> 00:02:12,566
governor.
think you're going to need

46
00:02:12,633 --> 00:02:14,468
to raise to win this
primary? And then what

47
00:02:14,535 --> 00:02:16,336
happens after that in a
general election?

48
00:02:16,403 --> 00:02:18,605
>> Yeah, I mean, it's it's
embarrassing the fact that

49
00:02:18,672 --> 00:02:21,375
this is probably a quarter
billion dollar race all in

50
00:02:21,441 --> 00:02:23,710
for for both sides and all
the outside spending and

51
00:02:23,777 --> 00:02:26,747
just the candidate alone.
I'm told about basement

52
00:02:26,813 --> 00:02:30,717
floor, 20 million, first
floor probably closer to 40

53
00:02:30,784 --> 00:02:34,321
million. So it's it's a
serious endeavor and one

54
00:02:34,388 --> 00:02:37,291
that we're excited about.
>> When it comes to a

55
00:02:37,357 --> 00:02:40,327
competitive primary. Where
do you personally draw the

56
00:02:40,394 --> 00:02:42,196
line between negative
campaigning versus just

57
00:02:42,262 --> 00:02:45,199
defining the differences
between yourself and an

58
00:02:45,265 --> 00:02:48,635
opponent?
gets personal, that's

59
00:02:48,702 --> 00:02:51,238
really the the dividing
line. There's certainly

60
00:02:51,305 --> 00:02:53,540
differences in on our side
of the aisle. There's only

61
00:02:53,607 --> 00:02:56,243
two of us in this race
right now. And there's

62
00:02:56,310 --> 00:02:58,478
certainly differences
between policy approach. I

63
00:02:58,545 --> 00:03:01,715
think those are important
to point out. And I think

64
00:03:01,782 --> 00:03:03,483
that's the essence of the
primary process. But once

65
00:03:03,550 --> 00:03:05,586
it becomes personal attacks,
I mean, I think that's

66
00:03:05,652 --> 00:03:08,655
where we've seen primaries
in the past go awry. And I

67
00:03:08,722 --> 00:03:11,058
have no intention of going
down that, that lane. And I

68
00:03:11,124 --> 00:03:14,194
hope the door swings both
ways.

69
00:03:14,261 --> 00:03:16,597
aware of the candidates,
should they be looking at

70
00:03:16,663 --> 00:03:20,167
which candidate has the
closest issues to them or

71
00:03:20,234 --> 00:03:22,703
general electability?
>> Well, I think it's both.

72
00:03:22,769 --> 00:03:25,939
I mean, first and foremost,
I think this has got to be

73
00:03:26,006 --> 00:03:28,275
about the people and local
communities a little bit

74
00:03:28,342 --> 00:03:31,211
more about Washington
less about Washington, D.C.

75
00:03:31,278 --> 00:03:33,514
but then I also think
there's there's something

76
00:03:33,580 --> 00:03:36,917
to be said about the types
of attributes it's going to

77
00:03:36,984 --> 00:03:38,652
take to win a general
election. Generals are, of

78
00:03:38,719 --> 00:03:41,188
course, much different than
Republican side in

79
00:03:41,255 --> 00:03:43,624
particular, we've spent a
little bit too much time

80
00:03:43,690 --> 00:03:47,461
focusing on who can win a
primary purity tests of of

81
00:03:47,528 --> 00:03:50,197
sorts, and we need to spend
more time thinking about

82
00:03:50,264 --> 00:03:53,534
what can win in the general
election. I think when you

83
00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,436
when you put my resume next
to anybody, I think the

84
00:03:56,503 --> 00:03:59,273
answer is clear. If we want
to be in the governor's

85
00:03:59,339 --> 00:04:01,542
mansion in January of 2027,
I think not only me, but my

86
00:04:01,608 --> 00:04:04,278
profile and our campaign is
the type that wins.

87
00:04:04,344 --> 00:04:06,180
>> This is an interesting
contrast because we have

88
00:04:06,246 --> 00:04:08,348
the northern Wisconsin,
which is kind of the the

89
00:04:08,415 --> 00:04:10,584
new prime territory in
Wisconsin for Republicans

90
00:04:10,651 --> 00:04:12,753
versus the old guard, the
wow counties, which

91
00:04:12,819 --> 00:04:15,122
obviously represent. So how
do you view that that

92
00:04:15,189 --> 00:04:18,258
matchup.
that's one of the main

93
00:04:18,325 --> 00:04:20,727
contrasts north versus
certainly a generational

94
00:04:20,794 --> 00:04:23,330
difference. But I also
think it's, you know, local

95
00:04:23,397 --> 00:04:26,366
and and personal versus
kind of state and DC

96
00:04:26,433 --> 00:04:29,736
Madison in Washington DC, I
think those are basically

97
00:04:29,803 --> 00:04:32,172
the dividing lines. And I
think it's a good contrast

98
00:04:32,239 --> 00:04:34,308
for people to really
wrestle with what's best

99
00:04:34,374 --> 00:04:37,444
for us to choose in August,
to put up in November for

100
00:04:37,511 --> 00:04:39,146
the best shot, to have the
governor's mansion in

101
00:04:39,213 --> 00:04:41,615
January.
>> How do you think Donald

102
00:04:41,682 --> 00:04:44,351
Trump will impact this race?
>> Oh, huge. I mean, you

103
00:04:44,418 --> 00:04:47,554
know, it's the president's
party. And that's been

104
00:04:47,621 --> 00:04:50,757
clear for the last ten
years. But I think one

105
00:04:50,824 --> 00:04:53,093
thing to keep in mind is
President Trump came on the

106
00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:57,164
scene in 2015 after the
2010 Tea Party wave.

107
00:04:58,232 --> 00:05:00,667
Republicans basically ran
on three major points,

108
00:05:00,734 --> 00:05:04,438
reduced the debt, eliminate
deficits, and repeal and

109
00:05:04,505 --> 00:05:07,574
replace Obamacare. Here we
are 15 years later, and

110
00:05:07,641 --> 00:05:09,443
we're still talking about
those three things.

111
00:05:09,510 --> 00:05:12,312
Sometimes President Trump
one pushing the needle on

112
00:05:12,379 --> 00:05:14,615
any of those by himself
that can't. That's

113
00:05:14,681 --> 00:05:17,718
unacceptable. And I think
it's why we continue to

114
00:05:17,784 --> 00:05:20,387
feel a churn in politics
across America. So he's

115
00:05:20,454 --> 00:05:23,590
he's got a humongous impact.
I certainly am going to

116
00:05:23,657 --> 00:05:25,626
work my tail off to earn
his support and endorsement

117
00:05:25,692 --> 00:05:28,662
and show him that he can
have the confidence in me

118
00:05:28,729 --> 00:05:33,400
that I've got this race.
Once we get past August and